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KING, Rufus, (half brother of Cyrus King and father of John Alsop King and James Gore King), a Delegate from Massachusetts and a Senator from New York; born in Scarboro, Maine (then a district of Massachusetts), March 24, 1755; attended Dummer Academy, Byfield, Mass., and graduated from Harvard College in 1777; served in the Revolutionary War; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Newburyport in 1780; delegate to the Massachusetts General Court 1783-1785; Member of the Continental Congress from Massachusetts 1784-1787; delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and one of the signers of the Constitution; delegate to the State convention in 1788 which ratified the Constitution; moved to New York City in 1788; member, New York assembly; elected to the United States Senate in 1789; reelected in 1795 and served from July 16, 1789, until May 1796, when he resigned to become United States Minister to Great Britain; Minister to Great Britain 1796-1803; unsuccessful Federalist candidate for Vice President of the United States in 1804; again elected as a Federalist to the United States Senate in 1813; reelected in 1819 and served from March 4, 1813, to March 3, 1825; chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Sixteenth Congress), Committee on Foreign Relations (Seventeenth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for Governor of New York in 1816 and for President of the United States in 1816; again United States Minister to Great Britain 1825-1826; died in Jamaica, Long Island, N.Y., April 29, 1827; interment in the churchyard of Grace Church.

American Philosophical Society Library

Boston Public Library

Cincinnati Historical Society

Papers:In King family papers, 1796-1803. 51 items on international politics and diplomacy, Franco-American relations, and arms purchases. Finding aid.

Columbia University
Rare Book and Manuscript Library

New York, NY

Papers:1784-1787. 19 items. Letters to Dr. Daniel Kilham concerning personal affairs and matters of contemporary diplomacy and politics including peace treaty with England, the Barbary powers, Spanish remonstrance against U.S. navigation of the Mississippi, and Mr. Adams' reception at British court.

Connecticut Historical Society

Cornell University Libraries
Rare Books and Manuscript
Collections

Papers:Portrait in Washington Irving's Life of George Washington, Volume XIV, Miscellany, 1784-1860; and correspondence in John Quincy Adams papers, 1796-1848 (bulk 1820-1848).

Hartford Seminary Foundation

Hartford, CT

Papers:1 item (September 20, 1789) in Thompson's collection.

Harvard University
Houghton Library

Cambridge, MA

Papers:10 letters (1785-1787) from King to John Lowell in Lowell family papers, 1640-1894. Finding aid.

Henry E. Huntington Library

San Marino, CA

Papers:1782-1830. 599 items. Diplomatic correspondence during his ministry at the Court of St. James. Finding aid.

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Papers:In Joel Roberts Poinsett papers, 1785-1851.

Huguenot Historical Society

New York, NY

Papers:In DeBois family papers, [ca. 1716-1927].

Indiana University
Lilly Library

Bloomington, IN

Papers:1815-1863. 94 items. Letters to and from King. After 1827, letters are primarily those of his widow written to her mother.

Library of Congress
Manuscript Division

Washington, DC

Papers:1784-1822. 30 items. Also correspondence in Alexander Hamilton papers, 1708-1963, and United States Constitution papers, 1787-1944.

Massachusetts Historical Society

Boston, MA

Papers:Ca. 160 items (1782-1825) in various collections.

Museum of the City of New York

New York, NY

Papers:3 letters and portraits.

National Archives and Records
Administration

Washington, DC

Papers:1 item (February 8, 1791) in Department of State records.

New Jersey Historical Society

Newark, NJ

Papers:Correspondence in Stevens family papers, 1663-1959.

New-York Historical Society

New York, NY

Papers:1783-1825. 11 volumes. Letters, notes, accounts and miscellaneous items from his political and diplomatic career. Also correspondence, papers, and genealogical material in King family papers, 1754-1908. Ca. 650 items.

New York Society Library

New York State Library
Manuscripts and Special Collections

Albany, NY

Papers:1786-1823. 8 items. 7 letters and a broadside (no date) of committee report to Congress concerning the Treasury. Also in Alexander Hamilton papers, 1760-1830, on 46 microfilm reels of originals at Library of Congress.

Oneida Historical Society

Utica, NY

Papers:In Ostrom family papers, 1809-1843.

Peabody Essex Museum

Salem, MA

Papers:In Samuel Holten papers, 1769-1816; and Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians and Others in North America records, 1791-1875.

Pierpont Morgan Library

New York, NY

Papers:1787-1826. 70 items. 49 were written to his son, Frederic Gore King.

Queens Borough Public Library

Jamaica, NY

Papers:1793-1823. 9 items. Includes letters from King to different individuals and a published engraving.